This invention relates generally to the field of telephony, and more particularly to an improved quick clip connecter block of known type in which provision has been made for the prevention of electrical shorting between adjacent quick clip connecters occasioned by the growth of conductive oxidized materials surrounding the quick clip terminals.
The use of quick clip terminals for telephone use has grown at a geometric rate in recent years. Connecters of this type are relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and usually incorporate insulation displacement means. Their use reduces the number of traditional wire wrapping operations which are necessary in the installation of a connecter block.
One disadvantage in the use of quick clip connecters is that the clips are formed from metallic materials which are subject to corrosion, particularly when placed in an ambient atmosphere of high moisture content. The metallic material, usually steel, or a non-ferrous alloy combines with oxygen to form a flake-like corrosive material, the outer periphery of which creeps away from the surface of the terminal. In known constructions, the creep is often sufficient, with passage of time, to reach an adjacent quick clip terminal on the block to form an electrical short between adjacent terminals. It is, of course, not economically feasible to plate the quick clip terminals with a noble metal, and it is also undesirable to space the terminals apart any further than is necessary to permit installation of a related conductor.